Hal Le Roy dances and Toby Wing smiles. That's all you needed in 1936 to make a good musical short subject. Well, that, about fifteen dancers, Roy Mack and the facilities of Warner's Vitagraph Studio in Brooklyn.

Hal was an eccentric dancer who stole the show of the 1931 Ziegeld Follies, and wound up with a career, encompassing stage and movies. Miss Wing was a favorite Busby Berkeley chorine from those spectacular production numbers; it was she who Dick Powell sang "I'm Young and Healthy" to in 42ND STREET, and she did well enough to get up to the lead of a second feature or two before she decided to get married.

There's a song sung by someone else, and a stilt dancer, but that's about it. When people want to be entertained, you just have to make sure you don't muck it up.

The musical genre features stories that combine music, singing, dancing, acting, and often spoken dialogue to tell a story or convey a narrative. Musicals incorporate various elements of drama, music, and choreography to create a cohesive theatrical experience that engages audiences on multiple levels.

Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music (1965)

The short form refers to creative works characterized by their brevity and concise storytelling. Unlike full-length feature films, short films have a running time of less than 45 minutes, while TV shorts have a running time of less than 22 minutes.

Benedict Cumberbatch in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023)

A doctor develops pills that make Hal a great tap dancer. Lola Green sees Hal dancing in a drugstore and asks him to join her vaudeville show. Everything is fine until Hal's pills disappear.

The Biggest Movies and TV Coming in September

See which big screen releases you can watch from the comfort of your couch.

Theatrical Releases Coming to Streaming

Get a closer look at these actors from their many TV and streaming series roles.

Streaming Stars, Then and Now

Broadway Brevities (1935-1936 season) #28: Rhythmitis

Added Attractions: The Hollywood Shorts Story

William Holden and Barbara Stanwyck in Golden Boy (1939)

Myrna Loy and Montagu Love in Vanity Fair (1932)

Barbara Stanwyck and Joel McCrea in Trooper Hook (1957)

Lucille Ball, Lee Bowman, James Ellison, Garson Kanin, and Cliff Reid in Next Time I Marry (1938)

Wallace Beery, Jan Clayton, and Tom Drake in This Man's Navy (1945)

Piper Laurie, Jimmy Durante, Joyce Holden, and Donald O'Connor in The Milkman (1950)

George Raft and Mae West in Night After Night (1932)

Barbara Stanwyck, Ralph Graves, Marie Prevost, and Lowell Sherman in Ladies of Leisure (1930)

Fred Hillebrand, Hal Le Roy, and Toby Wing in Rhythmitis (1936)

Fred Hillebrand and Toby Wing in Rhythmitis (1936)

Hal Le Roy and Toby Wing in Rhythmitis (1936)

Rhythmitis

Photos24

Top Cast7

User reviews6

More like this

Related interests

Storyline

Did you know

Top picks

Details

Tech specs

Contribute to this page

More to explore

Recently viewed